Tag: savings money

Since becoming a first time aunt three years ago, I’ve become quite an expert at buying baby clothes. Those adorable little scraps of cloth that babies just burp up and poop on. They only use them for a couple of months, and then it’s goodbye onesie. My sister happened to coincide with my cousin to be the first in the family to have the grand-kids. Needless to say, the entire family, including great-aunts and great-uncles, went crazy. It seems that the first grand-kids born get showered with so many gifts it’s a bit insane to think of.

While baby clothing is absolutely one of the funnest things to shop for when gifting for baby showers and birthdays, it can also be one of the priciest! I’ve seen boutiques with baby clothing that are priced at amounts I wouldn’t even spend on myself. The worst I’ve ever seen is a teeny tiny baby leather jacket priced at $400. A bargain deal right? I still love to gleefully run around a baby store picking out cute outfits and imagining them on my nieces. In the very beginning, I would end up with armfuls of outfits. I try to use coupons and sales though, but I think my highest at one time has been $120. Of course, I have had three years of being an aunt so I don’t really know how much I’ve spent in reality. I’ve gotten a bit smarter at picking out bargains since then though. Also, I’ve gotten a bit more practical in gifting than just going with clothing.

Buy big
Babies grow so fast that they really only wear clothing for a month or two at most. You can always put your baby in something bigger but never smaller. It’s always a smart idea to not buy at exactly the age the baby is at. That baby might already be grown out of that size, plus then they’ll only fit that for a shorter period of time. Buying big also helps ensure that they don’t already have that same clothing.

Try to calculate what season the clothing will be for
If a baby is going to be 6 months old in the fall, then buy some fall appropriate clothing. Summer baby clothing is the worst since you can only use that for summer time. That itty bitty bathing suit might be adorable, but most likely that baby will only use it once. Find out when the baby was born before shopping so you don’t end up getting summer clothing for the winter.

Give more practical gifts
Baby clothing is definitely not the only thing you can gift. I’ve heard that diapers and gift cards are also very valuable. Definitely not fun items but very necessary. You can always mix it up by buying one cute outfit and then adding a gift card or college fund money on the side. Other people will be so eager to buy baby clothing or pass along hand me downs that most likely you can get away with something else. Most parents do get bagfuls of used clothing from friends too. It might be a good idea to check with the parents before buying too much.

Buy on-sale and on-clearance
I’m always checking the clearance racks for good deals. Baby clothing can run $22 for a small onesie and pants set at full price. Even at 50% off, that’s still $11! The best times to hit the racks are during holiday weekends and semi-annual sales. Baby clothing never goes out of fashion so it doesn’t matter how old it is. As long as it is season-appropriate, it’s good. Babies aren’t aware of brand names and prices anyway. Why bother buying extremely expensive brands?

Ask the Parents
If you’re not sure what to buy or how to buy the correct sizes, ask the parents first! They’ll be the best people to ask since it’s their child. They can tell you what they really need or what the baby seems to like the best. For example, my nieces seem to love anything on their feet. Little jumpsuits with animals on the feet are insanely adorable. The baby will also have a lot of fun picking at their animal feet.

Don’t forget the main thing about baby clothing: the baby doesn’t really care what they’re wearing! Plus they will look adorable in anything! You really shouldn’t be spending a fortune on baby clothing at all.

Have you ever gone insane over buying baby clothes? What’s the most you’ve ever spent?